Rabbi settles in as new Wesleyan Jewish chaplain

MIDDLETOWN -- For the first time in almost two years, Wesleyan University has a full time Jewish chaplain on campus. Rabbi David Leipziger, previously acting director at the Center for Jewish Life at Princeton University has been on campus since July.

DENISE WEE

Published
12:00 am EDT, Monday, September 30, 2002

His decision to come was motivated by his attraction to the activism and social awareness he noticed on campus when he visited and what he saw as a need for a full time chaplain.

"This struck me as a place that needed a rabbi, that needed someone who had some experience, who was passionate about what they do and was willing to make a commitment to come here on a long term basis," Leipziger said.

He explained that he tried to run away from being a rabbi, but ultimately it caught up with him.

"Did I wake up at 3 a.m. and, you know, have a vision? No..eing a rabbi was a way in which I could connect with people. It was a way I could be an activist, work on being a community builder, work on transforming myself and my world," he said.

Leipziger, now 34, spent his undergraduate years at Columbia University and was ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia. Prior to working at Princeton, he also worked with students at the University of Pennsylvania and Bucknell University. He says he loved being an undergraduate and is excited to work with college students.

Since he arrived, Leipziger has been meeting students and getting acquainted with the campus. He said because Wesleyan is such a diverse place and has many layers, it is a difficult place to understand.

"I'm still assessing. I'm still learning. Everyday, I try to walk into a different building. I try to see what's there," he said.

He also noted that in part, because Wesleyan is such a socially and politically aware campus, there is pressure on students who have not yet decided where they stand on issues. He questioned whether the Wesleyan community accepts students who are disengaged from activism.

"In some ways I think it's easier to develop your identity here. But there's a lot of pressure because if you don't gravitate to this major or this group or this political affiliation or this identity politics, it's hard when everyone else is -- hey, I'm this-- (when) everyone can wave a flag and say I'm this or I'm not that," he said.

He added that not everyone has "figured out who they are."

One of the things the campus needs, according to Leipziger, is administrators, faculty and chaplains who are able to reach out and connect with students.

"I see students who I think are looking to make connections. I see students who are lonely. I think there are students who would love to have a place to connect to," he said.

Leipziger hopes to be a facilitator, both for Jewish students as well as students of other faiths.

"I help bring people together, both within the Jewish community. And in terms of dialogue, inter-religious dialogue, people of other faiths, people of no faith, people that are different."

Though Leipziger did not specifically say how long he plans to stay on campus, one can surmise it will be for some time.

"There are no empty boxes in my house. I've unpacked them all. There's a lot of work to do," he said.